Natural Honey

Honey and beekeeping have a long history in India. Honey was the first sweet food tasted by the ancient Indian inhabiting rock shelters and forests. The raw materials for the beekeeping industry are mainly pollen and nectar that come from flowering plants. Both the natural and cultivated vegetation in India constitute an immense potential for development of beekeeping. About 500 flowering plant species, both wild and cultivated, are useful as major or minor sources of nectar and pollen. There are at least four species of true honey bees and three species of the stingless bees. Several sub-species and races of these are known to exist. In recent years the exotic honey bee has been introduced. Together these represent a wide variety of bee fauna that can be utilized for the development of honey industry in the country. There are several types of indigenous and traditional hives including logs, clay pots, wall niches, baskets and boxes of different sizes and shapes.